US Ambassador unveils refurbished Qutub Shahi Tombs

The Qutb Shahi Tombs are now sporting a new look after the refurbished tombs of Taramati and Premamati were unveiled on Tuesday by US Ambassador to India Kenneth I. Juster.

The US Consulate General Hyderabad financially patronized the Aga Khan Foundation for the conservation and preservation of two tombs under the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation.

To advance the US-India strategic partnership, the Consulate General was here in the city.  He toured the Tata-Lockheed Martin Aerostructures facility. Currently, in its tenth year, it stands as a testament to the strong relationship between the defense cooperation between the United States and India. 

The Ambassador also attended the “Topping Out” Ceremony of the New Consulate Compound in Hyderabad.  In addition, he announced the completion of a U.S.-funded restoration project at the 17th century Qutb Shahi Tombs through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP).

Ambassador Juster’s visit to the impressive 4,700 square-meter Tata-Lockheed Martin facility marks the 10-year anniversary of this partnership and highlights the importance of the growing defense ties between the United States and India. The jointly-owned facility in Adibatla manufactures airframe components, including center-wing boxes and tail sections for the C-130J military transport aircraft. 

Tata-Lockheed plans to expand their partnership to produce more aircraft in India, which would advance the capabilities of the Indian Air Force and accelerate U.S.-India cooperation for sensitive high-end technologies.

The Ambassador celebrated the completion of all major structural components at the new US



Consulate Compound in Hyderabad during his visit.  The expansive structure has now reached a significant milestone in the Consulate’s construction. 

The new facility serves as a pillar of the deepening relationship between the United States and India, where the Consulate General Hyderabad officially engages communities, companies, and institutions across the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha.  Spread across more than 12 acres, the facility will feature 54 consular interview windows as well as artfully preserved Deccan rock formations.

In February 2019, Ambassador Juster announced a $103,000 grant through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation. This partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation will restore and conserve the centuries-old tombs of Taramati and Premamati within the greater Qutb Shahi Tombs complex. 

This is the second grant awarded by the U.S. Government for conservation work at the Qutb Shahi Tombs.  An earlier AFCP grant of $101,000, awarded in 2014, contributed to mapping and documenting structures throughout the site and helped transform archeologists’ understanding of the monument’s earliest architecture.

Ambassador Juster said, “I’m pleased to see progress at the new US Consulate Compound in Hyderabad.”  The Ambassador added, “From the success of the US-India defense partnership, as exemplified by a decade of cooperation between Lockheed Martin and Tata to the restoration of the historic tombs of Taramati and Premamati, US-India ties are clearly thriving in Hyderabad.”

MA&UD Minister KT Rama Rao, US Consul Joel Reifman and other officials were present on the occasion.